'He loved life:' Remembering Anthony Longoria

Friday

Nov 4, 2016 at 12:01 AMNov 4, 2016 at 10:30 PM

Jessica Weston City Editor Jessica_Weston9

Anthony Longoria was quick to win over a room. “When he would walk into a quiet room it wasn't quiet long,” remembered his brother Joshua Longoria. Anthony would crack a joke and make everyone in the room laugh.

Anthony's sister Laura Bradley agreed. Anthony, she said, could walk into a room not knowing a soul but when he walked out he would be everyone's friend.

Joshua and Laura sat down with the Daily Independent Friday to reminisce about the brother they recently lost, a guy who loved his son Lucas, mixed martial arts, rock music, reggae, the Dodgers and the Redskins — and friends and family above all else.

Laura described her brother as generous and kind. “He would give you the hat off his head,” she said. “It was not a big deal with him.”

While living in San Diego, his generosity extended to giving “the homeless guys his recyclables” as well as home-made sandwiches. “That's how we were raised, we were raised to always be nice to people and always be respectful to people," Laura said.

Anthony spent four years in the Navy, serving as an Operations Specialist from 2001-2005 during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. His brother said he was sorry to leave.

“He was very patriotic,” according to Laura. “Our whole entire family, we are a Navy family we have a lot of military history in our family.”

Anthony leaves behind a son Lucas. “He was a great dad,” both agreed.

“He loved Lucas, he loved his little boy so much,” Laura said. “He had him as often as he could. He brought him to the gym!”

Martial arts were another family tradition, according to Joshua. “We grew up doing martial arts and boxing,” he said. “When we were little guys we were the family entertainment.”

All three siblings studied Jiu-Jitsu, and Joshua and Laura said Anthony was happy to see MMA develop into a legitimate sport in recent years. “Other than Lucas, he loved boxing, he loved being in the gym, that's where he loved to be was training,” his sister said.

She added that even in a competitive sport, Anthony's good nature was obvious.

“He was a gracious fighter. Very respectful of the sport, very respectful of his opponents and the other coaches. He would take the time afterward to talk to those fighters that he beat and say, this is how I beat you.”

An amateur sponsorship will be started in Anthony’s name to support upcoming amateur fighters who are trying to go pro. “Anything to help an up and coming fighter he would definitely be all for it,” Laura said.

Despite being serious about his training, Anthony was generous to younger people. “He would take time out of his own training to hang out with the kids' classes and help the kids along. If he saw a kid having a hard time with what they were learning, he would sit down and take the time and show them,” Laura said. “He had a great sense of humor, he loved life. Someone in the gym said he touched everyone from two to 80.”

Flawless Victory owner Antoine Hood agreed. “He was one of my best friends. He would help out kids all the time, always helping the slowest and weakest, making sure he helped them get it.”

Anthony was born in Texas and moved to Ridgecrest in 1986. He graduated from Burroughs in 2000.

Asked to single out a favorite story, brother and sister are both at a loss. “I can't. The way I see it, my whole life is that story,” Joshua said. “It's our whole lives, it's not broken into stories.

They both laughed when remembering their brother's one-liners. “That's what I am going to miss is all of our inside jokes. When the three of us got together it was just non-stop teasing and joking,” Laura said, adding that Anthony was always telling her to relax and have a good time.

“In a time that's full of negativity and hate, he found the best in life,” Joshua said.“The bottom line was he just loved life. He loved life, he loved his family and friends, and he loved having a good time,” Laura said.

Services will be held today at 10 a.m. at the All Faith Chapel located at the Naval Air Weapons Center, with a private reception for family and invited guests after the funeral service.

A public reception celebrating Anthony's life will be held at Tommy T’s Sports Bar at 2 p.m.Burial will take place on November 7th at 12:30 p.m. in Arvin, CA at the Bakersfield National Cemetery with Military Honors. The procession will begin at 10 a.m. at Holland and Lyons Mortuary.